Part Three
Part Three is an episode taking place in Melbourne, Australia, which focuses primarily on Robert Leckie, but also has a side story centering on John Basilone. Story #After four months of combat on Guadalcanal, the 1st Marine Division is relieved and the men are transported to Melbourne, Australia. Shocked and befuddled by the welcome they receive, the men soon find that they are in something akin to paradise with plenty to eat, drink and a number of beautiful women to keep them company. Leckie's storyline The marines are taken to a sports field and told it's where they'll be billeted. As the guys head to their bunks, Leckie notices that marines are leaving in droves and the MPs are doing nothing to stop it. He, Chuckler, Runner and Sid are excited to head out on the town, while a still ill Hoosier flops onto his cot saying he plans to sleep for a few days. Robert Leckie meets a girl named Stella on a tram and is soon taken in by her family who see in him the son they never had. Robert and Stella are soon lovers. Sid Phillips meets a young girl, Gwen, whose grandfather makes sure he understands the rules of behavior when it comes to his granddaughter. Leckie returns from Stella's one morning to discover that the company is going on a training exercise. They are taken by train out of the city, and Gibson shoots a cow out the window of the moving train. While others congratulate Gibson on his sharpshooting, Leckie is furious that Gibson would kill a farmer's livelihood. The marines are to to take part in a 100-mile march back to Melbourne, equipped with only a bag of raisins and a bag of uncooked rice. They sleep in a field and Leckie wakes up with horrible blisters. Hoosier, whose feet are also in bad shape says You first, takes his knife and pops the huge blister, to Leckie's great relief. The company stumbles back into the stadium exhausted after their 3-day march. When Leckie return to Stella's after his absence, she breaks up with him in fear of both her and her family losing him, leaving a very hurt and angry Leckie to drown his sorrows in alcohol. Returning to the sports field, he comes across his friend Chuckler, who needed to take a piss, so he immediately gives his guard duties to Leckie without a second thought. This leads to trouble for both of them, as Leckie drunkenly insults and assaults Lt. Corrigan, leading them to be incarcerated for the night. Leckie is transferred to intelligence, while Chuckler is demoted back to Private First Class. The 1st Marines ship out with a big send-off from the locals: they're heading for Cape Gloucester. Basilone's storyline John Basilone is awarded the Medal of Honor and soon realizes that he can no longer act like he did before. He also has to leave his men when he's asked to return to the US to help sell War Bonds. Category:Episodes